It's going to be a war, and I just recently found out it's at 205 so this probably dosnt move either of them up at 185 with a win especially Rich what with the Spider still in his web. I am looking forward to this one and it's a lot more interesting than I first thought, Rich's standup looks fantastic latley but I think his best chance is to grind one out or get a submission and Dan needs to do what he does best and brawl with that massive chin.

Thoughts?

ohiostate1016

12/29/08 12:02:16PM

I think that Rich is actually a better fighter at 205. He looks built, and he doesn't look as dehydrated.

That being said, I'm having a tough time picking this one. Hendo is probably still one of the best athletes in the game, but I think that Rich will give him a tough time in this one.

Franklinfan47

12/29/08 12:26:11PM

Draw .

Seriously though, these guys are two of my favorite fighters, so its hard to pick this one. I think Henderson has the better credentials, and is still very underated at this point in his career, so I'm giving it to him by a close decision.

wiggum

12/29/08 12:42:45PM

tried to give ya props

agreed tho, franklin looked great against hamill.,...who is green, but still a big threat .....its tough to pick, but i think as long as hendo doesnt find franklins chin, i think that he will win a decision.....even tho anything can happen, i doubt that franklin will get a submission....its not really his forte' and the only guys to submit hendo are from the same camp (the nogs and silva)....aside from a cut, i dont see frankling tko'n hime either.....hendos chin is pretty much granite and franklin uses multiple punches to stop people rather than one punch ko's so i dont think thats happening either....but i do think franklin is the better skilled fighter with good enough takedown defense to hold off hendo enough to get the ud

Bowen50

12/29/08 2:10:31PM

i think Henderson is going to take this convincingly. Henderson can definitely hold his own on his feet but his greco is what's going to win him this fight. i see Hendo taking Rich down and getting the TKO victory in the 2nd round.

higdon10

12/29/08 2:17:06PM

I think that Hendo is going to catch him, get on top of him and pound him out in the 2nd round. I really dont see Franklin winning this fight. Henderson is grossly underrated.

jae_1833

12/29/08 2:30:30PM

Rich via decision, better gameplan, footwork, can hold his own against the clinch, and has the reach advantage.

Hendo67

12/29/08 3:04:12PM

Hendo by destruction, Hendo has heavier hands and it only takes one punch.We've seen Franklin break down and get clobbered. Where as we havent seen that from Hendo. Hendo has a better chin, better punching power and better wrestling.

Hendo by TKO 2

postman

12/29/08 4:01:10PM

I love this fight 2 of my fav fighters both good guys. Just hard nosed every day guys can't wait. Im going with Hendo in 2 by tko

cmill21

12/29/08 4:09:56PM

I think Rich will get drawn into a slug fest and thats not where he wants to be with Hendo.

MikeyG

12/30/08 11:22:15PM

rich could submit hendo, i see that as very probably if he gets on top

veritas

1/4/09 1:48:36AM

I honestly believe Henderson is going to control Franklin for 3 rounds to a decisive, one-sided decision win.

JimiMak

1/4/09 2:27:23AM

I think it'll be a war w/ a cpl really good back and forth exchanges. I also think the possibility of it going to dec is good. I do think that by the middle of the second one of them will find his rhythm and win a pretty clear win (whether it finishes or is a dec). It's all about who takes control. My guess is Hendo but this is so close, imo, that it's really a coin flip and comes down to the actual day of fight. They'd prob'ly go 5-5 in 10 matches. I think they're that even.

State_Champ

1/4/09 10:11:39AM

Posted by Hendo67

Hendo by destruction, Hendo has heavier hands and it only takes one punch.We've seen Franklin break down and get clobbered. Where as we havent seen that from Hendo. Hendo has a better chin, better punching power and better wrestling.

Hendo by TKO 2

Henderson has an awesome chin and the dude can take some punishment., but I would say that Anderson Silva 'clobbered' him in the second round of their fight, so it is possible to dominate him. With that said, I do not think Franklin has the ability to do what A. Silva did ('clobber' or submission). However, I do think that Franklin has enough ability to keep Hendo from landing any vicious GnP and that Franklin has good enough hands/ takedown defense to win a UD.

This fight could easily go either way, but I'm picking Franklin by decision. WAR FRANKLIN

MFOTHER

1/4/09 12:03:00PM

Posted by MikeyG

rich could submit hendo, i see that as very probably if he gets on top

thats what i was thinking, but then again, if palhares couldnt...... i dont know if rich will

note: Rich is the better mma fighter, but palhares' jitz is unbelievable

MikeyG

1/4/09 1:01:39PM

Posted by MFOTHER

Posted by MikeyG

rich could submit hendo, i see that as very probably if he gets on top

thats what i was thinking, but then again, if palhares couldnt...... i dont know if rich will

note: Rich is the better mma fighter, but palhares' jitz is unbelievable

this is true palhares has better jitz but rich's jitz is more customized for mma like anderson silva imho, palhares almost had hendo but i think his lack of the other areas was the reason he couldnt and that hendo just refused to tap and it could have cost him his career, that being said hendo probably isnt in trouble if hes on top of rich which is where palhares almost got his subs but if rich gets on top hendo could be in big trouble

nickcuc547

1/4/09 1:02:15PM

hendo takes this with his wrestling and punching power. rich could very well out point him but i think hendo takes advantage of his wrestling strength and gives rich a nice beating with gound and pound.

BrutalKnockOut

1/5/09 4:26:35PM

This should be a great fight, definitely a pick em, but I'm leaning towards Franklin via decision.

Napao

1/6/09 8:30:57AM

This is a VERY good matchup - and should pan out into a very close fight.

I don't even know who to pick from the heart...I like both these guys very much as fighters and as good ambassadors for the sport.

If pushed, my head tells me tho, that I would probably go with Franklin....just. There are still enough doubts about Hendo in my mind after his losses to Rampage & Anderson Silva & the fact he couldn't finish off Palhares...And Franklin's stocks & confidence will be boosted by the fact he's not fighting Silva again! Lol

Make no mistake - the existence of the superfreak that is The Spider is the ONLY reason Rich Franklin is not walking around with a nice shiny title belt around his waist! Sure, Silva humbled him....twice - but Silva has been humbling EVERYONE over the past couple of years...The dude is just an MMA freak!!

But this 1 should be a good fight, good fight...This and the return of Shogun - will be a nice little entree for GSP vs Penn II! =)